ANWR is Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. The place where all the debate about drilling for oil is centered. Oil talks here and all public officials and politicians favor opening it. To do otherwise is political suicide. The only ones who oppose it are transplants from out of state who move here. :)

Aluminum foil blocks the daylight during the summer. And it looks HORRIBLE as a decorating device. Unfortunately it's a common sight.

Carharts are industrial-strength working man gear that are popular. Made of canvas they can be as simple as a pair of overalls or as thick as Arctic gear for outdoors.

I'm sorry, I don't know what "Carharts" are. I guess that means I am not from Alaska! By the way, the antlers as decor item are pretty big here in the Arizona mountain country too. Plus, people go way overboard with chainsaw carved bears!

Hey I can relate to some of those already. Those would be 3,4,7 and 8. Our vehicles always look "camoflaughed", the hubby loves his carharts and always wears denim or flannel shirts. I could go on but I will leave you with that.

So true. So true. I'm only missing the antlers and the foil. I hang blankets over the blinds. I wore my Carhartt parka to the ice park the other day and my husband wore a down jacket with duct tape on it. Does that make us models for Alaskan wedding formal wear?

A sign of being a real Fairbanksan is thinking a 30 degree day in March is a sign to break out the shorts. Unfortunately, we haven't seen 30 yet.

I'd love to visit Alaska someday (my folks will actually be up there in a few months in fact), but give me a good hot Mediterranean climate any day! We're actually thinking of taking the kids to the beach tomorrow (ducking now).

Happy TT.

PS Mine's up too but not yet listed. Apparently using the word Turkey in a title is subversive and sends you off into the void of comment moderation... I'm feeling very lonely over there without my link.

I always love hearing about local flair. Whenever I watch a movie set in Seattle/Portland, I always have to count how many times the characters mention the rain. I don't know anyone that really chats up the obvious rain here. Oh well.

Here are my two funny memories about Anchorage (I was a camp counselor/college recruiter one summer): that there were many folks (transplants) that had a southern accent, hailing from Texas, AND the houses I saw were enormous, with very tall ceilings.

LOL! I love denim and flannel, and I've eaten both deer and moose, so I guess I'm suited to being an Alaskan. I always said I'd never live there because it's so cold - but then I heard about the land they were giving away somewhere in Alaska to try to lure people to move, and I would have gotten in on that, but unfortunately I didn't hear about it until all of the land had been given away.

Why the foil on the windows??? Does it make it warmer? I'm just wondering because it's the first I"ve heard of that...

To answer tw's question about the rotting smell:All the leaves, dead salmon, and other such things don't have time to decompose prior to the winter freeze up. There is also all the moose and doggy surprises that accumulates during winter. So when the spring breakup (thaw) comes all the decomposition happens all at once. It can smell fragrant until the first really good rain storm washes everything.

I remember the first time was wife when out to a salmon stream and her surprise at the rooting salmon smell. I had not noticed having grown up here. To me it smelled like the outdoors and fishing.

Not all Alaskans use foil; we use room-darkening shades. We don't always eat meat or fish. And, most importantly, not all of us favor ruining the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Far from it, but I think you mentioned in a previous post that your husband is in the oil industry.

A lot of us love the climate. That's why we live here. Since adn.com has linked to you several times, please don't generalize. You do not speak for all Alaskans. (Except about breakup. Snow mold adds to that odor. And it's just around the corner.)

Love it! And by all means, generalize all you want. Stereotypes exist because there are models to build upon. Listen not to the nay-sayers!I totally choked at the "fall cleaning" reference. We did the same in AZ, using foil to block out light AND heat. I can't imagine what my Dutch neighbors would say to such a window decoration. :) Also, wanted to express condolences about the church building. I thought I had you pegged as LDS. I am surely sorry for the loss on a personal and community level. Bless you as you salvage and grieve.

We moved from Alaska 8 months ago and never thought that I would miss it but do sometimes. You can really only understand your "you know your Alaskan if..." if you have lived there. As far as the church goes it made me feel kinda sick to my stomach and very sad.